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I’d hoped my voice would come out with a lot more authority than it actually did, and with the way he looked at me, I could tell he either knew I was making up a boyfriend entirely or he knew I was out here alone. Either way, I could sense this wasn’t going to end well.
“Well, I’m sure he won’t mind you playing me one song or two,” he said.
“I said no, that’s not going to work,” I replied. “I’m sorry. It’s not going to work.”
I kept repeating myself, hoping to get the message through to this guy. In the pit of my stomach, I already knew it was futile, but I didn’t know what else to do. I’d always been so careful when I was in the city. I knew what steps to take to stay safe.
I didn’t think I’d find myself in a dangerous situation here, however. This was a small place, a safe place. I had been so sure of that when I moved here, I hadn’t stopped to think that I might find someone here who would hurt me.
“Get away from me!” I yelled at him when he took another step toward me.
He paused for a minute, looking at me as though he’d been wounded.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “You don’t have to act like I’m kidnapping you.”
“I said to leave me alone, and you’re not getting the message,” I told him.
“I just want to hear you play, that’s all,” he said, taking another step toward me.
“Get away!” I shouted. “Go!”
But, instead of doing what I said, he seized me by the arm.
“That’s no way to act,” he growled. “I said play the damn guitar!”
I screamed as he grabbed me, and as I did, I tried to wrench myself away from him. My guitar fell to the ground in the scuffle, and I was pretty sure I heard it crunch when my attacker seemed to step on it. I was having a difficult time seeing what was going on, however, as all I could think about was the fact I couldn’t believe this was actually happening.
“Leave me alone!” I shouted at him once again. “Let go of me or you’ll be sorry!”
“There’s no one else out here to hear you,” he snarled. “You can scream all you want, but no one is around here. You really should have thought of that before you came all this way alone.”
My heart sank. I didn’t know how far I was away from home, but I had a feeling he was right. Especially with how early it was. Most reasonable people would be asleep right now, and anyone who was crazy enough to get up this early likely didn’t plan on going to the mangroves to spend their time.
“Let go!” I yelled once more, trying to yank myself away. “Let go right now!”
Suddenly, I felt myself being yanked away from Wave. I hadn’t noticed anyone else approaching in the struggle, but I was practically lifted off my feet and put behind what could only be described as a wall of a man. The person in front of me was tall and muscular, reminding me of a tank.
I didn’t know who it was until I heard him speak.
“When a young lady tells you to fuck off, you fuck off!” the man snapped. “I should put my fist through your face and bury your body somewhere the gators will find it and pull it back up, but you’re not worth the jail time. Get the fuck out of here while you still have teeth in your face; why don’t you? If I see you anywhere near this girl again, if I even hear of you being near this girl again, you won’t be so lucky next time, you got that?”
I realized it was Gavin between the two of us, and in his fury, Wave shrank away. Suddenly, all the macho manliness Wave had been flaunting over me had disappeared, and he reminded me of a scared little kid. He barely nodded before he was leaving the area, walking as though he had a tail tucked between his legs.
It was then I realized just how much I was shaking. I hadn’t realized it with all the adrenaline running through me, but with Gavin stepping in and taking over the situation, I was able to relax a little, knowing someone else was taking care of this.
“My guitar!” I suddenly cried, realizing now I could see the damage done to my instrument. I hadn’t had the chance to even react to the sound of it breaking when I was being attacked, but now that it was over, all I could think about was the fact that my most prized possession was probably broken, and I didn’t have the money to fix it.
I dashed out from behind Gavin, running to the tree stump and falling to my knees in the sand. I didn’t even bother looking to see where Wave had gone. I was sure he was running home, and I knew Gavin wasn’t going to let him come near me, even if he was still in the area.
Then again, if the guy had any brains, he would clear out of here as fast as possible.
“No!” I cried as soon as I saw what had happened to my instrument. “No! Not my guitar! Why? Why did it have to be that, of all things? No!”
Fresh tears filled my eyes and started running down my cheeks, and I angrily dragged the back of my hand across my face. My heart raced along with my shaking hands, but my knees were weak as a lump formed in my throat.
All the danger I had been in suddenly hit me, as though my mind finally comprehended that I could have been kidnapped, assaulted, or even worse. I felt so violated.
If Gavin hadn’t shown up, I didn’t know what would have happened, and with my imagination running wild, I couldn’t even focus on what was right in front of me.
